


You'll Always Have Me

by decoylullaby



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1900s, Arranged Marriage, Dancing Lessons, Dean Sucks at Chess, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Old Friends, Slow Dancing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 07:08:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28631505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/decoylullaby/pseuds/decoylullaby
Summary: When Castiel's family's newspaper business goes under and his mother falls ill, Castiel is forced into an arranged marriage to a wealthy businessman's daughter with a handsome dowry. His fears of spending his life in a loveless marriage overwhelm him and he seeks comfort from his best and oldest friend. If the wedding is inescapable, how is he supposed to get married if he doesn't even know how to dance?
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester, mentioned Castiel/Hannah (Supernatural)
Kudos: 19





	You'll Always Have Me

It's exactly five days and thirteen hours before the wedding. Castiel sits across from Dean as his friend surveys the board, calculating his next move. Dean's never been good at chess, but he still insists on playing every evening that they are together. Dean makes his move and Castiel is barely paying attention as he captures Dean's exposed rook. Dean makes a sound of protest and begins to contemplate his rebuttal, but Castiel's attention drifts away as his mind circles around his impending marriage.

Castiel's parents owned a very successful newspaper. He has fond memories of visiting the printing press and watching the machines mass-produce the morning paper. He can remember when his father had found out about his brother Gabriel skipping his lessons and had sentenced him to selling papers for a day, telling them if he didn't earn at least thirty cents, he would not be allowed supper. Castiel had snuck out of the house for a chance to witness Gabriel on the street corner, pathetically announcing the dull headline while the other real newsboys looked on and laughed.

A few years ago, however, a new, bigger newspaper had appeared seemingly out of nowhere and had presented his family with major competition for the first time. His family had tried everything from lowering the price of the paper to embellishing the headlines, but it wasn't long before they weren't turning enough profits to keep their gates open. Hundreds of workers had been laid off, the presses left to collect dust in the empty building. Now, his mother is bedridden with illness and his father manages finances for a local fish monger, saving each penny to pay for his mother's medicine.

He can still remember the day that he was called to his father's office, now sparsely furnished as they had auctioned the furniture for a few extra dollars.

"It's our last hope," his father had said after describing his--well, it could really only be described as a "plot"--to Castiel. "With your brother gone to chase skirts across Europe and your mother ill, we have no choice."

"So you're going to force me into a loveless marriage in order to save yourself from bankruptcy?" Castiel had demanded, a little more weakly than he would have liked.

His father's face had turned stone cold. "You will do what I say, Castiel. You are a part of this family, and as the future man of the house your have a responsibility to it."

Unable to summon anymore nerve, Castiel had scowled at the ground, mumbling, "Yes, father," before he was dismissed.

Since that day, he's met with Hannah a few times, under the supervision of her chaperone, and she's a lovely woman, albeit a bit plain. He has tried to convince himself several times that it couldn't be so terrible to be married to her, but he knows that he's lying to himself if he thinks he could be truly happy in that arrangement.

"Castiel?"

Castiel's unfocused eyes snap to Dean's face, where green eyes are staring at him, head cocked slightly to the side in a most endearing way. When he sees the sadness Castiel can feel lingering in his expression, Dean's face softens.

"It's your turn," Dean finally offers, and Castiel knows that it's an invitation to use their game as a distraction, but it's already clear that a simple game of chess simply cannot pull him from his wallowing.

"I'm afraid I must forfeit. You win," he says, knocking over his king.

Dean rolls his eyes and smiles playfully. "Come on, it's not really winning if you forfeit."

Castiel sighs and Dean's face takes on a look of pity, which Castiel can't stand so he looks away again. "Cas, look at me, please," Dean says. Castiel hesitates, but finally he slumps his shoulders and looks up. "I know that this isn't the best scenario, but Hannah's a nice girl. And you'll always have me, alright? So, maybe it won't be as bad as you think."

Of course, he would always have Dean. Dean is the only ray of light in his increasingly bleak life. No matter how miserable he'd felt over the last two years, he always looked forward to their weekend hunting trips, or their dinners at the club, or their simple evenings in, playing chess and drinking brandy. Dean isn't terribly wealthy, his father is a supervisor at a new automobile factory, but Dean had offered to help Castiel multiple times when they just couldn't afford food or medicine, and Castiel had sheepishly accepted a few times now, telling his father he had earned the money doing odd jobs around town. He owed Dean a great debt, although he knew the man wouldn't accept anything other than Castiel's continued friendship.

"Perhaps I'm overinflating things," Castiel concedes, "but I'm nervous about the wedding. I only have five days and I feel so unprepared. I don't even know how to dance!"

Dean's eyes widen for a beat, but his cocky smile soon returns to his freckled face. "Well, if that's the only thing you're worried about, that's an easy fix." Dean slides his chair away from the chessboard and stands up, offering a confused Castiel his hand. Castiel reluctantly takes it and is pulled to a more open part of the study. Dean leaves him there for a moment, walking over to the record player and choosing a record from Castiel's collection, many of which had been gifts from Dean. Soon, soft music in a gentle 3/4 begins to play and Dean returns to face him. He holds one hand in front of him and one out to his side and begins to move.

"It's very simple, see?" Dean says as his feet move perfectly with the music. "Just move with the rhythm of the music. Feel it inside you and let it lead the way."

Dean closed his eyes and continued to waltz with himself, deftly spinning around Castiel, who stood dumbstruck. After a few beats, one of Dean's eyes cracks open to look at him and he smiles.

"You do it, too, Cas. Can't just learn staring at me."

Castiel straightens and, feeling a little silly, mirrors Dean's posture and attempts to move himself to the beat of the music, stumbling over himself every few bars. Dean continues to encourage him and after a few songs, he begins to feel more confident.

"That's great, Cas!" Dean exclaims as the song came to an end. He runs over and changes the record again before returning to his place before Castiel. This time, though, Dean takes Castiel's hand and places it gingerly on his waist. As he places his hand on Castiel's shoulder and clasped their other hands, Castiel can feel the ripple of muscles beneath his fingers and heat creeps onto his cheeks. His heart is racing, but when he meets Dean's confident gaze, he manages to compose himself. Surely all those nerves are getting to him.

"Okay, now here's the tricky part," Dean says, adjusting their stance. "Keep moving to the music, but take me with you. Show me where you're going with your hand on my waist." At Castiel's terrified expression, he laughs. "Don't worry, I'll help you out this time, but you probably won't get so lucky with your bride, so focus. One, two, three, one, two, three--Ouch!" Dean winced when Castiel stepped heavily on his foot. "Right foot first, Cas...always the right foot first. Probably should have mentioned that."

Undeterred, the two begin again, Castiel gently rocking them side to side. His confidence grows the longer he goes without hurting Dean again. Finally, Dean ups the ante.

"Okay, Cas, let's move around a little more." He counted them in again and Castiel began guiding Dean around the study, careful not to run into anything. He casts a glance down at their feet but Dean quickly interrupts him.

"Ah, ah, Cas, eyes up here." Castiel's gaze flicks up and lands on Dean's sparkling green eyes and his heart begins to race again. His mind spins with concern, causing him to lose his footing and tangle his leg with Dean's, knocking them to the floor. When Castiel's mind catches up, he finds himself on top of Dean, hands splayed out on either side of his friend's head while Dean stares up at him with wide eyes. For the briefest moment, he sees a hint of colour on his friend's cheeks beneath the constellations of freckles. Castiel's chest feels tight, perhaps because he is embarrassed. For once, Dean appears to be speechless. His mind insists that he needs to get off Dean, help his friend up again, but his muscles simply won't respond. Dean isn't telling him to get off of him, either. Castiel can feel a tickling in his stomach that felt foreign and strange. Just as he's about to apologize to Dean for knocking him down, Dean surges forward, capturing Castiel's lips in a surprisingly passionate kiss. Castiel recoils, shocked. Now kneeling above Dean's legs, he feels as though his face is burning.

"D-Dean," Castiel stammers. Dean's eyes are wider than before and he looks terrified, an expression Castiel has never seen on his friend. Dean quickly pulls his legs out from under Castiel, sliding a few inches away.

"Sorry! Sorry..." Dean says, wiping a hand down his face. "I'm sorry, I, uh..." He stands, dusting off his pants. "That was uncalled for. Here." He offers Castiel his hand and helps him up.

When he's finally standing, Castiel's fingers brush over his lips. They still tingle as though shocked from the unexpected contact. "Dean, I..."

"No, don't say anything. Let's just pretend it didn't happen." Dean paints on an obviously fake smile, but when Castiel's expression doesn't change, it instantly falls away. "Or...maybe I should just go."

Dean starts to walk past Castiel looking completely defeated. Castiel's mind is screaming to the point that he can't understand what it was saying, so he just follows his heart instead, grabbing Dean by the shoulders and pulling him close, slotting their lips together with as much expertise as someone who has been kissed once (thirty seconds ago) can. Dean's body is frozen, but Castiel persists until finally, Dean's hands fall onto Castiel's waist and he gently, carefully moves his lips against Castiel's, as if he's afraid to startle him and ruin the moment. After a moment that feels like a lifetime, Castiel slowly pulls away, searching Dean's face for...something. Anything that might indicate how he's feeling. All he sees is slightly hooded green eyes and a hotly flushed cheeks.

"Dean..." Castiel says quietly, his voice deep and thick. Dean brings one hand up from his waist and places it on Castiel's cheek.

"Let's not talk right now," Dean says, leaning in and kissing Castiel once more. Castiel's stomach feels as though it's flipping over in his abdomen, but Castiel finds he enjoys the sensation almost as much as he does Dean's lips against his.

When they part again, Castiel's hands slide down along Dean's arms as he casts his eyes to the side. "Dean I...I'm getting married in a few days..."

Dean smiles sadly, rubbing his thumb over Castiel's cheek and drawing his blue-eyed gaze back. "I know," he says softly before touching their foreheads and brushing their noses together. "But you'll always have me."


End file.
